caught barefoot

I woke to a dusting of snow on the rooftops yesterday morning, which wasn't exactly a jump start to the weekend. Work in the garden didn't get accomplished as I'd anticipated, and, luckily, the few flowers I had planted (some colorful pansies and mint) seemed to not mind the frosty coating of snow on their leaves.

Prior to this cold front (which is probably normal for this region) we here in Minnesota had been experiencing a warm front that brought out our flip flops and sandals. The more daring crowd even got out their shorts for a jaunt in the sunshine.

We should have know it wouldn't last for long. April in Minnesota can sometimes be like the rest of the country's March. (In like a lion and out like a lamb and everywhere in between before a break in the calendar.)

As you can see, I was caught barefoot.

the thing to pass down

On a recent visit with my sister I took a few pictures of one of the quilts she made for her new daughter, Hannah. My sister has an affinity for bright colors and fancy shapes. She probably makes about 6 quilts a year of various size and intricacy.

The practice of making quilts goes back generations in our family, though not all of the women practice it. (I knit.) From our grandmothers, to our great-grandmothers and aunts, few of the quilts from previous generations have survived in our family, because the beautiful hand work had a highly functional purpose - keeping us snug and warm.

I guess I'm okay with that . . . as long as my sister keeps sewing.

aidez by the pool

Spring break is in session for me down in sunny Arizona. So far I've read two and a half books and knit most of the back panel of my Aidez sweater. For this project I'm using some new triple ply yarn that my mom had spun from our CVM romeldale fiber.

So far my gauge is on track and the sweater is turning out beautifully.

I'm trying to finish this project in time for this year's Shepherd's Harvest Festival that takes place on Mother's Day weekend. You may think that this should be an easy goal to achieve, given the amount of time, but graduate school starts up for me again in a week and it will be difficult to find time to knit this when studio gets underway.

This image shows a test square resting on top of the yummy pile of yarn that I selected to knit this project with.

one sock wonder

Originally, I was going to call this blog One Sock Wonder, but settled on tendril/twine instead because of my love of both knitting and gardening, but these days it seems like I am only a one sock wonder.

I finally finished just one of the "windjammer" socks that I've been working on for my sister. (This particular sock appeared amongst the swiss chard growing in my garden last summer -- just to illustrate how long I've had it on the needles.) I hope I can finish the other sock before this summer's harvest of swiss chard . . . the season of flip flops will soon be upon us.

Not that I'm complaining.

I have some time to knit now, but instead of focusing on just this project I've started two more. I'm home visiting my parents today and the lure of my mother's fiber room stocked with beautiful boxes of yarn spun from our sheeps' fiber was too much to resist - I had to grab about a half a mile of the new mohair and wool blend that my mom just got back from the fiber mill and start on another sweater.

I guess I shouldn't moan about how many projects I have on the needles, or even the fact that these projects seem to be talking longer and longer to complete . . . the yarn is here and I am here and I'll just take it one stitch at a time.

yarniday

These days I'm lucky if I even get to see my yarn (sitting in the basket in the corner) let alone cast on enough stitches for a project . . . but these circumstances will soon be changing. In less than a week I'll be done with my first winter studio and starting my spring break.

Break only lasts a week, but that's enough time to satisfy my extreme knitting deprivation. Hope all of you are getting your stitches on.

mini break

I traveled up north Friday night to visit my sister and her family. I brought a take-and-bake pizza and some yarn, expecting to spend the next twenty four hours immersed in knitting and baby.

I wasn't disappointed. Little Hannah was up when I got there and woke promptly every two hours for feeding my entire stay. (I didn't have to deal with the after-bedtime feedings . . . or the before bedtime feedings either.) I just got to hold her when she was happily full and rock her in the rocking chair next to the fire.

During her short and sporadic nap times my sister and I tried to take part in our usual crafts. She embroidered one letter of Hannah's name on a scrapbook page and I almost knit the heel of one baby sock.

These mittens are made from some yarn I dyed and spun almost two years ago. I gifted the yarn to my sister and she started to knit a pair of E.Z. mitered mittens . . . again almost two years ago. She pulled them out yesterday when she saw that we were both getting almost nothing done on our current projects and suggested I help her complete them by finishing the thumbs and weaving in the loose ends.

We'd just opened a bottle of pinot noir so I eagerly agreed to take up the task. I can't believe I gifted this yarn to her, actually. It's so beautiful, the way the worsted single ply wraps one row of color around the mitts. I don't think I've dyed anything like this since, but I want to recreate this yarn again soon.

I have about a hundred yards left over and I plan on making a hat for Hannah. Something to match her mother's mittens.

paper hearts

I've spent this chilly Saturday afternoon baking bread and making valentines. At first I thought I'd have to go out and buy supplies, but I discovered more than enough scarps of pretty paper to make all my valentines this year.

A few stitches in silky pink embroidery floss frame my cards nicely. As I was making these cards I recalled learning how to cut out hearts in kindergarten.

Now there are tiny paper hearts all over my living room floor. I might just leave them there until Valentines Day.